Before the ubiquity of the Internet and YouTube, unless one lived in a diverse city or on a military base, these VHS tapes were the only way one could experience exotic martial arts growing up. Panther's advertising blitz and catalogs offered wide-eyed, kung fu movie-loving kids a glimpse of all the styles they could learn. Hours were spent pouring over the black & white pictures and each tape's description. The quality of instruction ranged from questionable and hilarious to superb, and buyers often complained how the numerous slow motion replays would chew significantly into the 45 to 55 minute run time of each tape. While single tapes averaged $50 a piece, multiple coupons throughout the ad encouraged buyers to save by purchasing in bulk. I recall purchasing 10 tapes (Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Capoeira) in the early 90s and the price averaged out to around $10 each. 

Panther Productions was founded by Joseph S Jennings in 1982. Joseph is a 10th Dan in Isshin Ryu Karate and is currently a World Representative in the International Isshin ryu Karate Federation (IIKF) and teaches privately in Southern California. According to the Universal Martial Arts website, "In the 1980's, Mr. Jennings relocated to southern California and created the first martial arts training video company, Panther Productions. He filmed and marketed over 500 different videos by dozens of top martial arts masters and world champions." -https://uma-clt.com/History.html. 

Panther Productions and their inventory were eventually sold to Century Martial Arts supply in the early 2000s. Century made some effort to preserve the catalog by converting many of popular Panther titles to DVD. A few stale listings can be found on Century's website, but they're out of stock and there's no mention the DVDs are VHS transfers. Century dabbled in filming their own martial arts training videos, but it never surpassed the sheer variety and popularity of the original Panther Production library.

Hopefully this catalog and quick summary helps jog good memories and provides you with your daily dose of Vitamin N (Nostalgia).